


Deet is not a Rebound

by Closeted_Calliope



Category: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Anxiety, Because Plot Convenience, Confessions, Deet has emotional strength, F/M, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Is Rian using Deet as a Rebound from Mira? No!, Is he terrified that that is exactly what he's doing and is having a mental breakdown? Yes!, damn bitch rian needs therapy, its a mental breakdown (stressed out kazoo sounds), rebound anxiety, takes place after season 1 but Deet got better, yall are cowards for not writing her as the emotionally strong one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-16 14:11:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21037511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Closeted_Calliope/pseuds/Closeted_Calliope
Summary: In which Rian begins to panic that he's not really in love with Deet, and that he's just using her as a rebound. Deet, however, is not an idiot, and knows that Rian is just suffering from a mixture of panic and grief.





	Deet is not a Rebound

**Author's Note:**

> So this takes place like a few months after the end of season 1 (idk what the gelfling word for month is so it’s not mentioned in the actual fic) and also Deet got cured of the darkening but like it left a bunch of scars. Hope y’all like it!!!!

Rian looked at Deet from across Stone-In-The-Wood. She looked absolutely radiant, helping another gelfling carry firewood to a nearby campfire. Despite the deep purple scars running down her arms and up her neck left behind by the Darkening, she was still as beautiful as ever. 

She giggled at something one of the other gelfing said, and Rian sighed, content, a small smile forming on his face. Only Deet would be able to become a living vessel for the Darkening, find a way to be cured (granted, with help from the others, but still), and be able to bounce back from such a traumatic experience with little issue. Even when Augura and Brea warned her not to over exert herself as her body was still healing from the Darkening, she still insisted on at least helping with minor things, as she was still part of the resistance. She was truly one of the strongest gelfling Rian had ever met. Well other than.....

Rian's smile faltered as he remembered her. 

Mira. 

He still loved her with all his heart but.... 

She was gone. And there was nothing he could do about it.

He'd never hold her hand in his again, never hear the way her laugh filled the area around her with warmth and joy, never feel the soft pressure of her lips on his. 

He should've done something, back in the lab. He should've tried to fight off the Skeksis, should've tired to pull her off of that machine, should've done something, _anything_......__

_ _He shouldn't have just stood there like a _coward_ as Mira was _murdered_ by those-_____ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"Rian!!!"_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Rian was snapped from his thoughts as an arm wrapped around his shoulders. He looked up to find Gurjin looking down at him with a friendly grin._ _ _ _ _ _

"You ready to go over the infiltration plans?" Gurjin asked, gesturing towards a group of gelfling gathering in what used to be Maudra Fara's throne room.

Oh no, he completely forgot about the infiltration plans! He had gotten so consumed with the thoughts about Mira, and how he couldn't save her, and how long had he been thinking about her-

"Rian? Are you okay?" Gurjin took a hold of Rian's shoulder and shook it gently, but he barely noticed it. All he could think about was the Skeksis drinking Mira's essence like it was a fine delicacy and how it was so easy for the Chamberlain to take the rest of her for himself and suddenly Rian was consumed with all-encompassing thoughts about how he couldn't save her and what if he lost Gurjin or Brea or Thra forbid _Deet_ and the Skeksis took her away just like the took Mira and-__

_ _As the tears streamed down his face and his mind went into a full blown panic, he ripped away from Gurjin's grasp and ran for the woods, ignoring his calls after him._ _

_ _~_ _

_ _Deet put the final stack of firewood next to the blazing fire the dark haired Vapran girl thanked her for her help. Two of the Sisters had come out by this point, and the cool night air had settled around Stone-In-The-Wood. Deet began to wander as the girl (Juni, Deet remembered) added the firewood to the campfire as other gelfling gathered around. _ _

_ _She clasped her hands together and ran her hands over her Darkening scars. It had been difficult, to say the least, to cope with the Darkening taking over her body and forcing her to do its bidding. But she had the most wonderful friends, and Rian and the others had stopped at nothing to force the Darkening out of her. It took a while, but Deet was able to move past the embarrassment she had felt about her scars, which she now stopped hiding them like she had before and rather wore them as a badge of bravery against the Skeksis, the Darkening, and everything else the resistance stood against._ _

_ _She was truly greatful to have found such good and loyal friends, especially Brea and Rian. They always made her feel like she wasn't a weirdo from Grot, but just another gelfling like the rest of them. Especially Rian. He in particular had been crucial in helping not only heal her from the Darkening, but also make her feel important. _ _

Rian......

"Deet!"

Deet turned to find Brea and Kylan running over to her, looking worried. "Deet, have you seen Rian?"

"Not recently, why?"

Brea and Kylan shared a nervous glance before Kylan continued, "Gurjin said he panicked and ran off, we have no clue where he could be."

Deet gaped at her friends. "Rian's.....gone?"

"We'd hoped he'd have told you where he was going, given how close he's gotten to you," Brea explained. She brought her hands to her head as she muttered, "What are we going to do now?"

Deet's heart seemed to skip a beat, but she wasn't sure why. _How close he's gotten.....___

_ _She blurted out, "I could go look for him."_ _

_ _"No," came the immediate response from Kylan and Brea, in unison._ _

_ _Deet planted her hands on her hips. "And why not?"_ _

_ _Brea started, "You're still healing from the Darkening, we don't want you to overwork yourself."_ _

_ _Kylan added, "Not to mention Gurjin said he seemed really distressed. We don't want him to-"_ _

_ _"What? Hurt me?" Deet interrupted. "Do you seriously think that Rian will hurt me?"_ _

_ _"Well-"_ _

_ _"And," she added, "you said yourselves that Rian's been getting close to me! He'll be much more likely to confide in me with what he's dealing with!"_ _

_ _"Okay, fine-"_ _

_ _"Not to mention," Deet continued, "You seem quick to forget that I'm the gelfling that survived being possessed by the Darkening! I can handle a single gelfling's emotional crisis!"_ _

_ _"OKAY," Brea relented in exasperation. "Go find Rian. Just....be careful, ok?"_ _

_ _Deet grinned, having won this argument, and turned on her heel to go venture into the woods._ _

_ _Kylan looked at Brea. "Do you think she'll be able to find him?"_ _

_ _"Most definitely. She does know him better than anyone else here. Well, except for maybe Gurjin, but he's a little.....occupied......"_ _

_ _"What-"_ _

_ _"He stole Naia's best knife on accident, and now he fears for his life. At least, that's what he told me."_ _

_ _"Ah."_ _

_ _~_ _

_ _Deep in the woods, Rian finally fell to his knees as his legs gave way. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his thoughts spiraled. _ _

_Why didn't I do anything for her? I could've done something, *anything*, just at least tried to save her from those *monsters*. For the love of Thra, I should've at least tried to take one of them out, one less Skeksis for us to deal with now. What if they come for my friends? For *Deet?* Oh Thra, Deet......_

_ _ _ _His mind suddenly wandered to his beloved friend. _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _She was so sweet, and kind, and understanding......_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _His breath began to slow down a bit._ _ _ _

_ _ _ _Why was the thought of Deet so calming?_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _What was it about her that made the very thought of her so.... soothing?_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _She was so loving and caring for all her friends, yet she was brave, braver than anyone he'd ever met before, and wasn't afraid to get snarky when the situation was appropriate, her smile lit up a room, and her hair was so shiny, and beautiful and.......white........and........._ _ _ _

_She's so much like Mira....._

_Is that why I....._

_ _Rian’s breath caught in his chest. _ _

_ _He loved her. _ _

_ _Deet. _ _

_ _He didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed it before; the long tender looks, the way he never wanted to let go of her hand, the intense burning desire he had to free her from the Darkening’s hold......._ _

_ _He loved Deet. _ _

_ _But......_ _

_ _Did he really?_ _

Rian’s thoughts began to spiral again. 

_Why am I having these feelings all of a sudden? Is it because I’ve been thinking about Mira? Am I only having these thoughts because Deet is so much like Mira? Oh Thra, what if I lose Deet like I lost her? I already almost lost her once. I can’t lose her again, I can’t I can’t I can’t can’t can’t cantcantcantcantcant-___

_ _“Rian?”_ _

_ _Rian broke from his thoughts with a gasp as he found Deet herself, sitting quietly by his side. She was reaching a tentative hand towards him that she quickly drew away._ _

“Rian.....are you alright?”

Rian squirmed into what he hoped looked like a relaxed seated pose. “Y-yeah,” he stuttered, “I’m totally fine, why do you ask?”

Deet gave him a look. “I was only asking to be polite, Rain. Gelfling that are fine don’t run into the woods halfway through a conversation. We both know you’re not doing so well right now.”

Face flushing, Rian looked away in embarrassment. He couldn’t believe Gurjin told the others.......wait, no he could. It made sense for his friends to worry about him. He was hit with a wave of guilt for leaving so suddenly. He should’ve have done that. 

“It’s ok, Rian, no one is mad at you for leaving! We just got scared because we didn’t know what was wrong.”

_Damn! Did I say that out loud?___

_ _Deet sighed. “I understand if you don’t want to, but would you like to talk about what’s going on with you?”_ _

_ _Rian nervously looked at the ground, silent for a moment, before muttering, “.....Mira.”_ _

_ _“Hm?”_ _

_ _“I’ve been......thinking about Mira recently.”_ _

_ _“Your partner that was murdered by the Skeksis?” When Rian visibly winced at the mention of his girlfriend’s fate, Deet quickly apologized, “Ooooh I’m sorry, that’s still a tender subject, huh?”_ _

_ _“Yeah, it’s okay though, it wasn’t your intent to be hurtful,” Rian replied nonchalantly, though it seemed a little strained. “Yes, I keep thinking about what the skeksis did to her and how I just watched. I didn’t even try to help her, I just watched as those _monsters_ drained her of her essence and drank her down like a fine wine. I should’ve done something. I should’ve tried to pull her out of that machine, or just anything other than just stand there, watching like a coward-___ _

“You wait a second there, Rian!” Deet interrupted. “There’s nothing you could’ve done! If you tried to stop them, you would’ve been drained as well, and then who would’ve started the fires of rebellion? Mira’s death would’ve gone unresolved and unresolved, and we’d still be under the rule of skeksis!”

Rian was quiet. He hadn’t considered that. “But still-“

“But nothing!” Deet took his hands in her own. “You’ve done so much, you shouldn’t be hung up over the few things you weren’t able to.”

Rian’s face noticeably flushed from the sudden contact with the cute girl. But he was still significantly calmer than before. “Thank you, Deet. I really needed to hear that.”

Deet grinned and replied, “No problem, Rian, that’s what friends are for.”

And with no forethought at all, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. 

There was a brief silence before they realized what had just happened. 

They then proceeded to panic.

“OH WOW-”

“OH THRA I AM SO SORRY-“ Deet buried her face in her hands. 

“IM SORRY TOO-“

“WHAT ARE _YOU_ SORRY FOR?”__

_ _“I DON’T KNOW? FOR PANICKING?”_ _

_ _“DID I MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE?”_ _

_ _“NO I-“_ _

_ _“SHOULD I JUST LEAVE?”_ _

_ _“NO WAIT I-“_ _

_ _“I’M JUST GONNA GO I’M SORRY-“ Deet got up to leave, her face red and anxious. _ _

_ _“Wait!!!” Rian reached out and took hold of her hand, his fingers brushing against her scars. Deet paused, still turned away. _ _

“Please don’t go,” Rian stuttered, sounding more desperate than he’d like. “I......don’t want to be alone. Not right now, at least.”

Wordlessly, Deet turned around and took a seat next to him, looking anxiously at her hand, still held in his. “Should we just.......talk?”

“Talking sounds like a good start.”

Deet took a deep breath. “I.....I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be, it’s ok.”

“Does that mean....” She braved a glance at Rian. “......you liked it?”

“I......I don’t know,” Rian admitted, leaning back until he fell on the ground with a frustrated grunt. 

“Hm.” Deet lay down beside him and asked, “What don’t you know?”

Rian thought for a moment. “My feelings are complicated, and I don’t want to bother you. 

Deet let out a humorless laugh. “If I wanted to not be bothered, I would’ve left already.”

Hesitantly, Rian admitted, “I......care for you.... a great deal.”

“I like you too.”

“No, no, I mean like, in a more..... romantic..... way.”

“I know.”

“You know?” Rian asked incredulously as he turned to her. When she nodded, Rian blushed heavily and looked away in embarrassment. 

Deet giggled, “I mean it’s not like you’re subtle about it.”

“Ha ha, okay, I get it.”

He paused. 

“Yeah, I do like you.”

“..........But?”

Rian groaned, took his hand from Deet’s and buried his face in his hands. “I just,” he started, “I’m scared that my feelings aren’t truthful, and I’m going to end up hurting you, and you’ve already been through so much, you don’t need to be through any more pain.”

Deet thought on that for a moment before asking, “Why do you think your feeling might not be truthful?”

“.....I don’t want to say it.”

“Why?”

Rian didn’t have an answer, but Deet continued, “I’m not gonna make you tell me, but it might make you feel better.”

Rian wasn’t sure what to say, so he just pulled his hands from his face and looked up at the sky. The Third Sister had come out and the three moons had strewn themselves across the sky. Deet wordlessly grabbed Rian’s hand in hers, and he let her. They lay on the ground for a few minutes, neither one speaking, just staring at the sky, completely content. 

Soon, Rian felt comfortable enough to talk again. “You remind me of Mira.”

“Hm?”

“You remind me so much of Mira, and I’m scared that I only feel this way about you because you’re so much like her.”

Deet didn’t speak for a few moments, and Rian was sure of the worst before she stated, matter-of-factly, “Well maybe you just have a type.”

Rian’s brain froze. 

_Oh Thra, I have a type.___

“Did that.......did that seriously not occur to you?”

“In my defense, I’m currently trying to process a lot of trauma.”

Deet shrugged. “Fair enough, I mean, who isn’t dealing with trauma at this point?”

“True. Skeksis are the worst.”

“The absolute worst.”

Rian hesitated before turning his head to at Deet. “Hey Deet?”

Deet turned to look at Rian. “What-“

Rian quickly pressed his lips to hers in a quick, soft kiss before lying back down on the ground and returning his gaze to the sky. 

Deet was stunned in silence as Rian stumbled over his words. “I , uh- I’m not sure- I don’t think I can say what I want to but, um- I really..... I think you’re really.......”

Deet finally found her voice. “I love you too Rian,” she said with a grin, taking his hand and pressing her lips to it. 

Rian smiled softly as he let out a sigh of relief. They would have to go back to Stone-in-the-Wood soon, and they’d have to explain everything. They might not explain their......relationship just yet, but they probably would in time. He still loved and missed Mira dearly, but there was nothing he could do for her now except make her sacrifice mean something. And keep moving forward, because he knew she’d want him to. 

And for now, the air was still, the sky was beautiful, and everything was okay. 

And Rian was going to be okay.


End file.
